Asking For Donations?

I received the following comment:

I'm in dire needs of a financial miracle to make my life better financially. I would like to enjoy Christmas with my family and be happy. The world is full of unlimited possibilities and I figure that if I ask I shall receive and with this I am asking that if anyone can understand my needs that they render to me any forms of cash financial donations to me to assist me in making my life more bearable.

Send all care finances to ................,

Firstly I'm going to have to tell you that I am not going to take responsibility for having someone's address, name and phone number on this blog unless it is a paid advertisement!

Secondly it can be considered quite dangerous posting such personal information on the Internet for the world to see!

There are quite a few legitimate sites where one can posts and ask for donations and I mention about one here.

Also too I just got finished posting on my Foreclosure Blog about a family that had managed to avoid foreclosure of their home by putting up a website and asking for donations.

There are quite a number of legitimate websites out there where you can post your pleas for donations to help you with your financial difficulties. And like the blog post above that I mentioned, you can also take matters into your own hands and put up a website or blog of your own so that you can ask for donations.

During these hard economical times people are facing many hardships but I have also found that there are those who are fighting for what they want and believe that where there is a will there is a way!

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7/27/11 Comment Received:

"I would like to Ask for Help for my Family. My daughter is 1 and has been diagnosed with Microcephaly, she will be disabled for the rest of her life. we currently live with my husbands family in a small house our two sons share a room and me and my husband share the smallest room with our daughter. We have no room to breath or walk. We tried to get a home but have been turned down due to not enough funds. We live paycheck to paycheck. I have been looking for work the last 5 months and no one will hire me. We are asking if people would please help us get a home of our own. we would like to raise $30,000 I know its a lot to ask for but our family wont even help us. I can not keep going like this it will cause us to split or loose what we have. Even if you live in Powder Springs Ga and would donate a house to us we will take it no matter the condition. Please some one out their help us. And yes I have tried the grant thing its all scams and they do not give money away tried everything"

I'm sorry but I have to tell you that the "grant" thing is not all scams! I do grant research for a living and you can take a look at my Grant Basics 101 Blog and you will see that there are plenty of grant programs out there!

Paper Towels!

I know that there is a big move to going "green" and recycling but there seem to be just some things that I would rather live with than live without!

For example, I was reading an online article about different ways that people "waste" money and one of those ways was buying paper towels. According to the article "there's nothing that can't be done with a re-usable dish cloth that you would need a paper towel for".

Now I'm sure that this is true but I just can't see myself (nor would I want to see myself) without having paper towels! I know that they do cost a lot - I remember a time when you could buy a roll of paper towels for a dollar! - but this is one of those items that I want to have a supply of!

Another Fee That Farmers May Have To Pay?

As a person that does grant research for a living, there have been times when I have had to defend them but here is a strange story!

It seems that there is a proposed new fee that farmers may have to pay for some of their farm animals! Here is an excerpt:

"An Environmental Protection Agency proposal to combat air pollution from flatulent farm animals would require farms with large number of animals to pay annual fees of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog."

If this proposed fee becomes law, it is estimated that some farmers could pay as much as $30,000 per year!

Farmers (as well as mostly everybody else) are struggling now as it is and as you can well imagine some farmers are not happy with this proposed fee!

You can read more about this proposed fee by going to the link below:

Making Farmers Pay For "Gassy" Animals?

Do You Have A Bank Account?

I post this question because I was looking at one of the Adsense-related message forums and I saw that someone had posted that they can't believe that some people are still getting their adsense money by regular check. The person that posted stated that they think that Adsense should stop issuing Adsense earning by check!

Of course I think that this would be a huge mistake because without that option a lot of people would not be able to get their adsense earnings!

Just the fact that one is able to actually have a bank account in the first place is a blessing because not everyone is able to have a bank account. As a matter of fact I remember hearing a teller who worked at the bank saying that she couldn't even HAVE a bank account! There was even a time way back when I didn't have a bank account because I had been seriously overdrawn!

The problem with that is that the bank will actually let you be able to overdraw your account but then you get hit with these huge bank fees and that is what happened to me! In the meantime you can't open another bank account at another bank because you have it on your record that you owe another bank - so you can't open a new bank account somewhere else!

So if you do have a bank account - consider yourself lucky and be grateful that you are able to have it because having one and keeping one has gotten to be more harder - while in the meantime there are those who are not able to have a bank account at all!

Rebates? Question & Answer

excerpt from online news

On June 19 of last year, we purchased several Fisher & Paykel appliances from University Electric in San Jose. At the time, the manufacturer was promoting a rebate on items bought before June 30. Based on our purchases, we qualified for a rebate of $900. However, because the items were not delivered until July 18, we could not submit the rebate forms before the deadline, as they required serial numbers from each model. The rebate administrator told us to contact University Electric and have them apply for the rebate on our behalf. I did so, and was assured we would receive the rebate. I've contacted the manufacturer several times over the last year and was constantly reassured the rebate would come, but it never has. At this point, my calls aren't being returned.

D~
San Jose

A miscommunication caused your rebate to slip through, says Garth Ship, a manager for DCS, parent company of Fisher & Paykel. There was some confusion as to whether the money was sent to you or University Electric, he says, and the closing of the rebate clearinghouse complicated matters.

Regardless, Ship says he cut a check for $900 and sent it to you via overnight courier. You've been given the package tracking number, just in case.

Your experience illustrates why rebates can be so dicey. Even if buyers jump through all the hoops correctly, they're still at the mercy of the fulfillment houses to hold up their end of the bargain. Getting a lower initial purchase price is immediate, and requires far less work.

Want To See A List Of Billionaires?

Even though there are many people who are struggling financially, there are some who have managed to thrive in this economy!

The list of Billionaires is growing!

Billionaire Bachelor List

Advice From Someone Who Is Already Rich!

I am sure that it is a dream of many people to become financially wealthy. Who better to get advice from about how to become wealthy than from someone who is already wealthy - Warren Buffet!

10 Ways To Get Rich!

$2 BILLION Bailout!

Do you or have you owned Enron stock? If you do then you should take a look at the article link below! It seems that this $2 Billion has accrued interest over time! You should also know that the attorney fees come out to around $600 Million plus!

Billions To Be Shared By Enron Investors!

Paypal - Some Basic Information About......

If you don't already have a Paypal account, I would highly recommend it! However you will need to have a bank account and / or credit card in order to be eligible to have a Paypal account.

There are some fees involved though. Many people don't realize that Paypal is only free for sending money. There is a fee involved for receiving money - even if the money is from donations.

It's always free to send payments using your PayPal account. Personal accounts can receive a limited number of credit or debit card funded payments per year and are assessed a transaction fee. To view your Personal account limit, log in to your account and click the View Limits link.

PayPal members with a Business or Premier account are charged a low transaction fee for receiving payments. For more information please be sure to visit the Paypal Website.

"25 Ways To Make Quick Cash"

Below you will find a link to an article that lists 25 ways to make some quick money. I thought that most of them were merited and in fact some of the ways listed were quite good!

Here is an excerpt of one way that I want to include on my Grant Basics 101 Blog:

"Seek Emergency Assistance

Many charities provide services and items that you would otherwise spend money on, freeing up some dollars to apply to your most pressing needs. Among the most common of these are food banks and open-dining opportunities, help or waiver of utility costs, and clothing and other household essentials."

25 Ways To Make Quick Money

Tips To Help Save On Gas Money!

As soon as I saw this online article I knew that I had to post a link to it from this blog!

Currently gas prices are at an all-time high and average at least $4 a gallon and to make matters even more worse that price is expected to rise to $5 per gallon!

How To Reduce Your Gas Costs!

Flood Insurance?

As a grant researcher, I find that there is a lot of information (and grant programs too concerning those areas that have been hit by heavy rains, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.,.....When these areas have been hard-hit they can usually be declared as disaster areas and therefore those areas will be eligible for financial aid from the government.

However, the first step always involves what kind of homeowner's insurance one has. The first step is always to see what kind of benefits (financial money) one is entitled to when they have been hard-hit by the weather.

Many people may think that they have flood insurance as part of their home insurance package but that is not always the case! You should check and make sure that your home is covered for flood damage! You don't want to have to wait until you actually get some kind of flood damage and then find out that you are not covered! Here is an excerpt from an online article:

"Only about 1 percent of homeowners outside designated floodplains purchase flood insurance. Home or business owners in flood-prone areas are usually required to purchase flood insurance before they can get a mortgage loan"......

So what should you do if you find out that you don't have flood insurance? You can purchase additional coverage ("rider" policy) to include with your regular homeowner's insurance policy.

A Tax On Grocery Bags!

I saw this headlined article and couldn't believe it!

There is a mayor who wants to put a 20-cent tax on plastic grocery bags! That means that a customer / shopper would have to pay an additonal 20 cents
for each grocery bag that they use!

I really think that this is so ridiculous! However I am reminded of my local Aldi store where shoppers are charged something like 25-cents to buy their grocery bags.

The tax is being proposed because of the feeling about how plastic bags are not good for the environment and to encourage people to re-use their bags.

Here is a link to the news story!

Paying Income Taxes - A Necessary Evil!

Well I'm almost finished filing out and completing my income tax forms for this year. I have already completed my local tax form which is called an Earned Income Tax where you are taxed 1 percent of your income.

I have also completed my state income tax forms which was the big holdup because I had to wait until I got a Schedule C form from them - which I got a few days ago. (By the way you can always go to your state website and download tax forms so that you can have them right away.)

I think I have finished my federal income tax form but I want to make copies of that before I seal up the envelope and put a stamp on it. The form(s) are downstairs and I just don't feel like getting them right now - but I should be finished completing them though.

Since I'm self-employed and work from home, filing out my income taxes this year was quite difficult and more complicated. It was a lot more easier when I was working for somebody else!

However on the plus side there were some things that I was able to deduct as far as business expenses were concerned and now I have made a mental note to save my receipts that are related to business because I never really done that before.

Of course when you're self-employed that means more paperwork as far as one's income taxes are concerned but since I have worked for both the IRS and H & R Block, I am familiar with the basic procedure of filing out tax forms. In fact it will be fun to see which business expenses I can legally deduct as far as my business is concerned.

I was also noticing when I was filling out my income tax retunrs just how many things one has to declare as far as income is concerned. Lottery winnings, grants and even the interest you get from banks and the like! Other things like social security and disability income that you get are sometimes not taxable BUT if you want to claim the special tax stimulus refund then you have to fill out an income tax form. I know someone who is doing this and they are expecting a $300 refund!

I also will be getting a refund this year - thanks mainly in part to the business expenses that I was able to claim and deduct.

I started to fill out my income taxes more than a month ago and I'm just now getting to the end of it. But once they are in the mail I will be quite relieved!

You REALLY, REALLY Have To Be Careful About The Email That You Get!

I just got finished posting to my Spam Blog about how one has to be careful about the email that one receives.

As things get more and more sophisticated so do too the scams!

Email will come to one's box saying that they are from their banks and they need to "check out" your account information. The email wants you to click on a link that is provided so that you can enter your banking or account information.

Like I said in my Spam Blog - DO NOT CLICK ON THOSE LINKS! Call your bank directly and ask if there is something wrong with your financial account.

While you may be clever enough not to fall for this kind of scam a lot of people do and the live to regret it!

Direct TV - Did You Know?

If you have Direct TV, then as a subscriber you should know

• that if you pay your Direct TV bill by phone there is a $5 extra charge for doing this. Direct TV encourages you to pay either by mail or online
  
  
• if you do not pay your Direct TV bill then they will start to bill you for their equipment - something like $50 per each receiver box that you have installed. Subsequently Direct TV will send you mailing boxes so that you can disconnect your Direct TV boxes and mail them back to Direct TV so that you won't be charged for still having their equipment
  
  
• if you can not pay your total Direct TV bill - pay at least something - even if it is only $10 because this will show that you are making the effort to pay your bill.

Are You Interested In The Stock Market?

I was reading some adsense message board postings and someone brought up the subject of since Google seemed to be doing so well they were interested in buying Google stock which I thought wasn't a bad idea. Currently Google stock is at around $500 per share!

The only REAL dealings that I have had with the stock market was when I was in junior high school and we had the assignment of investing (imaginary) money into the stock market. I think I made something like $23 in profit!

Would I invest in the stock market today? I would as long as I had a good amount of security as far as my finances go. I wouldn't invest in the stock market to make a quick buck!

The Cost Of A First Class Stamp Is Going Up One Penny Starting In May!

I just happened upon the article today!

This is the first that I have heard about it and do you know I still have my stamps from the last postage increase? May is 3 months away and it really doesn't matter because if I want to mail something I'll just have to adjust to the new postage rate.

The cost of stamps is not the only thing that will be increasing.

You can read more about it by clicking here!

Depositing Your Checks Without Having To Go To The Bank?

Technology is advancing so rapidly today. People can do their banking and pay their bills online. Now comes word that those of us that do our banking online may now be able to deposit checks without having to go to the bank!

Confused? So was I at first but it really seems to be quite simple. The process involves scanning the check but it isn't a sure thing yet. It's currently being experimented on and it will depend on whether or not your bank will allow you to have such an option. A lot of people already have their checks direct deposited so this might be another very good option to have.

I certainly love the convenience of being able to do my banking at all kinds of hours! I especially hate those long lines on Fridays and I'm sure that a lot of other people do too!

Of course I realize that not everyone has a banking account but for those that do there seems to be another convenient option well on it's way!

Here is a link to an article that talks more about being able to deposit checks without having to go to the bank.

"The Curse Of The Lottery"

I was watching a program called "Curse Of The Lottery" which is about people who have won the lottery. Some have won a few million while others have won over a hundred million dollars!

Some of the stories were good and some of them were so sad! You would think that with winning all of that money a person's problems would be solved but that didn't happen in all of the cases.

First I think that it is a requirement that you appear on television to accept your lottery winnings. (Although I do seem to remember that some people had their lawyers appear.) Once you appear on television then everyone will know that you won the lottery.

Another thing is that a lot of that lottery money will be taken in taxes regardless of whether or not you take your lottery winnings in one big check or if you opt to receive payment installments.

Even though the name of the show was "The Curse Of The Lottery" a few of the people that were featured in the show did go on to lead a relatively productive life. One woman even said that she kept her same phone number.

The rest of the stories were quite sad! One man who won the lottery killed himself! Another became so deep in debt that he spent all of his lottery money in a few years. Actually this man traded his lottery winnings for quick cash from one of those places that do that kind of thing.

It's really just too hard for me to say that winning the lottery is an entirely bad thing because money can solve a lot of problems. Unfortunately it can also bring in a new set of problems as well!

This hasn't stopped me though from buying lottery tickets!

Sometimes Customer Service Represenatives Can Be So Rude!

Usually when I'm talking to a customer service representative they are usually pleasant and easy-going. But not this particular time! It's just so hard to believe that you could actually get two entirely different personalities when you call the same place!

On one of my previous occassions calling this company the customer service representative and I talked for almost a whole hour! And it was a very pleasant conversation with both me and the representative laughing!

That's why talking to this last one gave me pause for thought. She just seemed like she didn't want to be bothered and I wondered that maybe I knew more than she did and she didn't like it! (In defense of the topic of companies outsourcing to other companies this representative sounded as though she was from the US so I can't complain about not being able to understand her - I understood her quite well!)

There's really no sense in reporting her. Maybe she was just having a bad day?

If she doesn't like her job maybe she should read my Working From Home blog

Praying For A Financial Miracle

"Question: I pray for a financial miracle, not in greed but for relief and to help so many others both directly and indirectly in the name of JESUS. I'm tired of poverty and really believe that GOD has provision (lottery jackpot) above and beyond here on earth. I can see a great future and GOD in the blood of JESUS does provide. I am not ashamed for this vision of the future that is prayed for. Is this good?

Answer from Jesus:

I can assure you that both God and myself would like to see the abundant life manifest on Earth. It was never God's intention that so many people should live in abject poverty. On the contrary, it was always God’s intention that everyone should share in the abundant life in a universal brother/sisterhood in which people would recognize the truth in my statement that inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my little ones, you have done it unto me.

I am not saying that you should not pray for abundance, both in your personal life and in the lives of others. However, a central theme on this website is that people need to change their attitude towards religion and towards their relationship to God. People need to move out of a passive state of mind in which they expect God to change their situation through some kind of financial miracle. Instead, they need to get into an active state of mind in which they begin to see themselves as Co-creators with God.

If you truly read the Bible, you will see that this idea is already incorporated in the teachings I gave 2,000 years ago. Take for example my parable about the talents. The person who buried his talents in the ground was rebuked by God because he had not fulfilled the essential command given by God to “Multiply and take dominion over the Earth.”

When you are sent into this world, God gives you certain gifts and talents, and it is your responsibility to multiply those talents. When you do, God will multiply your multiplication so that to him that has, more shall be added. If you bury your talents in the ground and passively wait for God to do it all for you, you are simply not fulfilling the covenant that God has offered to man.

So instead of praying for a financial miracle, such as a lottery jackpot, it would be more constructive to pray for God to enlighten you as to how you can play an active part in bringing about this new more abundant future. There are two ways for you to do this, and the first is to change your own state of consciousness. It is a universal law of God that if you want to change your outer situation, you must begin by changing yourself, your state of consciousness.

Begin by leaving behind the consciousness of poverty, which truly springs from a sense of being separated from God, and step up to the abundant consciousness. The abundant consciousness is the Christ consciousness in which you see yourself as a son or daughter of God. You will remember my statement that I am come that all might have life and that they may have it more abundantly. As you will see throughout this website, I came to show all people that they can rise out of the lower state of consciousness, the carnal mind, and attain a higher state of consciousness, namely the Christ consciousness.

The Christ consciousness is truly the abundant life, and when you attain that state of consciousness, when you seek first the kingdom of God, all else, including material abundance, will be added unto you in accordance with God's will and your soul’s plan for this life.

When you begin to attain the abundant consciousness in your own life, you can then work for bringing about the abundant life on a larger scale. I earlier said that it is God’s intention that everyone should share in the abundant life. So you need to consider why we currently have a situation on Earth with such an unequal distribution of wealth that a majority of the world's population live in abject poverty while a small elite live in incredible luxury. You will quickly realize that this is a manipulation of the original plan of God.

If the situation is to change, two things must happen. One is that more abundance must be created, and this can be done by using the laws of God. The best way to use the laws of God is to attain Christ consciousness because then you will be in alignment with those laws. So one viable way to change the current situation on Earth is to attain Christ consciousness and then see how you can help bring about more abundance that you share with others.

source
Ask Real Jesus

For more information about additional sources of money please check out my blog about unclaimed money

The Unclaimed Money Blog

Update!

One of my most favorite pieces of advice is to take something that you love and turn it into a business! Please take a look at my Working From Home blog to get some working from home ideas!

If you are looking for money or some sort of financial help you can take a look at my blog Grant Basics 101 which is my blog about government grants and types of free money that is available out there!

Tax Season Is Here!

With the New Year comes the new tax season. I realize that it is only January but the sooner you face the fact that you have to do your income taxes the better off you will be!

There is the federal income tax, the state income tax and in more local areas (like my own local area I also have what is called an "Earned Income Tax" - yeah it's a bummer but it is a bummer that HAS to be done!

If you are not comfortable with doing your own income tax then by all means hire an income tax preparer to do your income tax. I used to work for both H & R Block and the IRS and believe me if you hire a good income tax preparer then they may be able to help you get a higher tax refund.

Beware Of Credit Scams!

The Basics - 5 credit-fix scams to avoid

Theres no magical way to fix your credit score. Beware fast-talking crooks selling shortcuts.

Thinking of paying someone else to clean up your credit file? Anything they can do, you can do better. And cheaper.

But it takes time and dedication.

If your report contains genuine errors (read: debts that have been on the report beyond the allowable time or debts that really aren't yours, not just debts you wish weren't yours), you can fix that yourself for free. And with a minimum of hassle.

source
Money Central - MSN

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I thought that this was a very good article to point out!

It seems that more and more ways are popping up offering to "help" people with their credit and sometimes people are in such a bad way that they will sometimes let themselves be easily scammed.

So be careful out there!